About lahmann
I've developed a fondness for picking myself up, reaching far across the map and dropping myself into a completely new environment. The steps I took to develop this fondness are as follow. Step one: for college I moved from conservative and sheltered Suburbia, California to hippie town Eugene, Oregon. There I swapped my lust for a fake tan, nails and designer jeans for a love of flowers, waterfalls and trees. Step two: upon graduation, I sent myself off to Chonburi, Thailand: city of water. Here I was faced with the saving face mentality and doing things "Thai style" (without precaution). I spoke to Buddhist monks who opened my eyes to my tendency to dichotomize everything: "Why don't Buddhists just kill themselves after they reach enlightenment?" "Death is not the opposite of life." "Ahhh." My western notions were confronted with eastern notions and it felt cathartic, magical, soul-opening; an explosion of east meets west in my head. Step three: Yangon, Myanmar, the biggest step of all. Never before has my mind been so heavily confronted by poverty and negligence alongside kindness as my US privilege slaps me in the face- it’s disturbing, it’s awakening. Each step I take brings new inspiration and greater strength to my writing. I want step four to be exploring the underbelly of my own country; to see a side of it I’ve never known and to discover more about the US.
